Reasons to smile
by MiraculousElle
Summary: A smile is worth more than a thousand words sometimes - one shots that kinda form a story, adrienette and ladynoir, a little ooc for some characters, post reveal but (for some part) pre relationship
1. Happy Smile

Adrien was _tired._

The week had been filled with appointments. And today had been another stressful day- and it was only eleven in the morning. The poor teenager had to stand up at four, drive across town to a photoshoot he couldn't miss, didn't eat, and hadn't seen his friends for what felt like years (it had been three days but who counted). So, all Adrien wanted was a break. And maybe a coffee, if he was lucky and his father's assistant feeling generous. He'd even take on an Akuma, though these had been strangely absent the past days. Maybe Hawkmoth _did_ have a life outside of butterflies and using the anger of teenagers to his benefit.

School was a welcomed break to him. Because of his busy life, he had missed the past few days and was all too eager to see his classmates again.

Jumping out of the silver car, Adrien grabbed his bag and waved a quick goodbye to Nathalie and the Gorilla, not waiting any second longer. He had spend the past days with them, they'd definitely survive without him for a while.

"Dude!" Nino yelled, raising his hand from where he stood at the schools entrance. A grin crossed his face as the blond looked up at last. "Nice to see you again, man!"

And he wasn't alone- holding his other hand in a tight grip was Alya, a smile of her own on her face at seeing her friend again. Adrien was glad for Alya- not only was she an amazing girlfriend to his best friend, but over the past year she had become one of his best friends, as well. He was glad, really, because he believed that eveyone deserved an Alya in their lives. She was that one motivational friend, the mother of the group, the supporter no matter what- though if you did something stupid she'd tell you right away. He admired her (and sometimes feared her but that was another story).

But then he saw Marinette. Holy guacamole, he saw Marinette.

Coming with Alya as her best friend was Marinette Dupain- Cheng, a girl he now counted as one of the most important people in his life- if not the most important person. Their start had been... well, let's just say Adrien had actually been scared of her back then. But then the stammering began and he wondered how one girl could be so badass one moment and cute the next. It took him exactly ten months, three weeks, two days and 6 hours to find out why. That has been two weeks ago now. Two weeks since he knew that his best friend was also his crime fighting partner and long time crush. Awkward was an understatement- but they were getting used to it. Slowly. Gradually.

Anyway, now looking at his friend (that word didn't quiet fit anymore...) Adrien felt his breath leave him all at once.

Her blue eyes were shining in happiness, the color even more prominent then usually. And damn, he was drowing. Like a ocean, they held him and pulled him in further and further. He wasn't complaining.

In the end, it was her smile though. Had it really taken him three days of not seeing her to realize how beautiful it was? Or had he been so used to her being with him that he hadn't taken note of it like that before?

Her whole being was lit up only with it alone, little dimples showing from the strength of it. And it hit him then- this cute, happy, _beautiful_ smile was for him. Adrien! She was happy to see him again! And, in a way, it was _Ladybug_ smiling at _Chat Noir_ like that.

That smile, Adrien decided as he sped up the stairs towards the group, was definitely better than any coffee.


	2. Fake smile

When Adrien entered the building, he really hadn't planned on eavesdropping on his best friend and her friends talking. Really. These things just happened.

Didn't they?

Anyway. Adrien stopped short at his locker, quietly closing the door and leaning againt it as, on the other side of the locker wall, the girls kept talking.

"... It's gonna be amazing! My mom has bought the best tickets!" He was able to detect Alya's voice before he heard Rose answer. "That's perfect! I can finally wear my new dress, it's even in Jagged Stone's colors!"

 _Ah, the concert._

Jagged Stone was back in Paris and for one night only. Of course he could have gotten tickets somehow, playing the 'I'm rich and famous' card, but he had been too busy with meeting with Marinette to get to know each other better out of the suits and being a superhero in general. Not that he complained.

He was brought back to the present when Mylene spoke. "Oh, my dad can pick us up with his car. I asked yesterday." "Guys," Marinette suddenly spoke up, "what's this all about, anyway?"

"We're going to the Jagged Stone concert tonight!" Alya said, but she sounded distracted, like she was on her phone. "We've been planning for days."

"O-Oh? Uhm, okay, cool!" Adrien felt his heart drop painfully at the sound of her voice. Something was _so_ not right. And he had a sad guess at what it was.

"Yeah. Sorry, you've been so busy, we kinda... planned it without you. We just thought... Well, you didn't have any time the past weeks and..." The ringing of the bell startled eveyone. Marinette inhaled deeply before answering. "No, no, It's fine, really. I- Go on without me, I have to get something from my locker. See you in break?"

Adrien sneaked forward, glancing around the corner at the group now all moving to the door except for Marinette, who was still standing in the middle of the room. Only Alya turned around one more time, sending her _best friend_ an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Mari, but we wanted to go to Juleka's to plan the outfits. Maybe we'll catch you before it ends, though! You have Adrien, right?"

It stuck. Adrien saw the flash pass through his Lady's blue eyes, something alike pain and sadness all mixed together. He wanted to throw something.

"Yeah. Bye, then. See you in class." And then she smiled a beautiful, tragic, fake smile. It physically hurt him. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her eyes shone with tears and were blinking ever so often. Not that either Alya or anyone else really saw at the moment.

He didn't want to pass them off as bad friends because he _knew_ they weren't. Maybe they really were just excited about the evening and all that- but the boy was still _pissed._ He was angry, hurt and disappointed. And especially Alya would get her fair share of it tomorrow morning. He wasn't gonna let this drop.

The group left and Marinette sighed, sliding down the wall to lean back against the wall. "Come out, Adrien. I really don't wanna be alone right now."

Called boy spluttered as the girl's eyes opened and looked right at him, still poking his head out from behind the locker wall. "I - Uhm, sorry, I -"

"Oh god, Kitty, I was able to _feel_ you look at me from over there. I know my cat." She sighed and patted the space besides her, throwing him a little, but honest, smile. He was by her side in an instant.

They didn't talk. Did they need to? He didn't think so. For now, it was okay with Marinette in her obvious sadness with tears blurring her ocean eyes and Adrien, still angry and sad _for_ his partner, hugging her tightly and resting his head ontop of hers.

And on this day, Adrien swore he'd never let Marinette put on a fake smile ever again.


	3. Flirty smile

Marinette loved Adrien. It was no secret, hadn't been and would never be. Everyone around her knew; hell, she was pretty damn sure her parents were the ones behind the 'Adrienette- Fan- Club' thing. Yes, everyone, except Adrien knew. He was just... dense. And she was thankful for that.

Anyway, she really loved him with all his quirks and imperfections, be it his love for anime or his self doubt that would appear from time to time. All of it, Adrien and Chat Noir.

Except for the puns. _Oh god,_ the puns.

The two friends (Yeah, she really hated that word) were studying at her place when Adrien began punning. One might have called it flirting, even. Very bad flirting for her taste.

The blond sat on the floor by her chaise, math book open on his lap and school supplies thrown around him. On his left shoulder slept a kwami, Plagg snoring quietly and flicking his tail ever so often as to annoy his friend. Tikki was sound asleep next to him, her tiny body partly hidden beneath the seam of his shirt. It looked adorable, really. Not that Marinette would admit it.

He had been fairly concentrated most of the afternoon as had his partner been. Said girl sat in front of him, a pen in her hand and a tiny frown on her face. Well, it was math they were studying. She could kick ass anytime, design a hat in less than a day, organize a party for a friend in three hours- but algebra was definitely not on the list of things she was good at.

Their comfortable silence was cruelly broken by Adrien, who chuckled and smirked into air at first for about a minute before pulling up his knee to rest an arm on it. Before she could question his behavior, the teenager spoke. "Hey, Marinette", he started, smirk widening when she finally faced him, "Do you know what my shirt is made of?" Marinette blinked a few times before Adrien answered his question. "Boyfriend material!"

Blue eyes blinked once, twice. Her mouth opened and closed again, nothing coming out. A few seconds after, Marinette shook her head and looked back down, continuing to read. "Pretty sure it's cotton, actually."

She had to hide her grin, then, when she heard the boy mutter a quiet 'Damn it'. What was he trying to accomplish, anyway? That had come out if nowhere and he knew she hated pick up lines so what was his goal-

"Are your parents baker?" He suddenly asked. The girl snorted. "You know damn well they are." "- because they sure made you a cutie pie!"

It took a lot of willpower to not crawl over to him and strangle him. So she settled for a small growl and an eye roll, though apparently this was what he had wanted. Because he didn't stop there. Oh, far from it.

"Would you grab my arm, so I can tell my friends I've been touched by an angel?" "I could _break_ your arm, you know."

"I bet you 20 euro you're gonna turn me down." "...You did _not_ just actually give me 20."

He was persistent, that was for sure something Marinette could add to Adrien's traits. It had followed many, many more flirts and even more comebacks from her side and now Adrien was glaring at his friend who, in return, was grinning into her book, not actually reading anything. She could practically _feel_ him stare at her in defeat and resignation.

That was when she remembered something.

Adrien, mostly as Chat, could dish out line after line but he had never had anything like that thrown at him. He had never been at the receiving end of flirting, never had to choose between blushing furiously or saying something witty back, at least not with her. And it made her wonder- could he take it?

Closing her math book, Marinette leaned forward to sit on her knees, her eyes finding his and holding his confused gaze. A smile made its way onto her face and that alone seemed to have an effect- it was supposed to look seductive, her teeth biting into her bottom lip gently, her smile crooked but smooth. She knew her eyes were sparkling in excitement, too. And Adrien was becoming redder by the second, his green eyes wide and his mouth open, visibly gulping as the girl slowly crawled closer.

Marinette bit back a laugh as she leaned into him, her cheek softly touching his and her lips mere inches from his ear. He could feel her breath now and judging from his sharp intake of air, it also had some kind of effect.

And then she whispered a sentence she never thought she would ever use. "Hey, I was feeling a little off today, but you definitely _turned me on_."

Adrien was incapable of doing anything other than blush and stutter for the rest of the day.


	4. Loving smile

"Are you okay, LB?" Chat Noir worriedly asked, hands holding her shoulders. When she didn't answer, the boy gently shook her, not liking her silence at all.

It has been a fight like usual. They had won, like always, but he had been possessed once again. Nothing too serious, how he understood it, he had a strange addiction to singing or something- the Akuma had been musical based, after all, so it wasn't hard to believe.

Of course he felt bad now that the fight was over because he hadn't been the help he should have been. But he knew his partner had everything in control and did an amazing job on her own, so why was she -

"Why did you do that, Chat?" Ladybug pulled him out of his thoughts, her shoulders tensing before shaking. It alarmed him. "What-" "Why did you think it was okay to take that hit for me? And don't come at me with 'Only you can restore everything and save us' because that's not true. We both know you are smart enough to figure out a way to save us, too! You're a hero, too, and I don't _get_ why you always put me first! Don't you care about yourself, Adrien?!" By the end of the lecture, her voice had become high and breathy, a small clue to the tears that fell down her eyes, one by one. She was now looking up at him, blue eyes an ocean of tears and sadness, but he saw no real anger. All the boy saw was confusion and panic.

He understood, now. Ladybug - Marinette- was afraid _for_ him. She was scared something would go wrong and she wasn't able to save them. She was scared of the expectations of her and scared he wouldn't be there with her one day. It broke his heart.

His hands came up to cup her cheeks, carefully measuring his words. "Of course I do care about myself. I really have no intention of - uh.. getting hurt. But the thing is that I care about you more than you could ever know. You are my best friend above all and if there is one thing more important to me than my own wellbeing, it is my friends wellbeing. I will try to, rather than take a hit for you, get out of the way with you. But you know me, I'm not a big thinker, I do things quickly and without real after thought. I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't want to make you worry. But you have to know that I will always be here with you and never _ever_ leave you alone."

Chat wasn't too sure if it had been a good idea to say all that at first because once he finished, his friend began crying harder before hugging him tightly. He was quick to hug her back before she inhaled deeply, calming herself.

It must be hard, the boy thought, to watch him get possessed again and again only because he was either protecting her or just too slow. If it was her, he knew he would be furious with himself and scared, like she was.

She sniffled once, twice, before leaning back again and wiping at her eyes. "It's okay, but _please_ try to not get hurt or possessed all the time. I need you, Adrien."

 _Tell her,_ Adrien thought, _don't be a coward._

Chat pulled back completely to look her in the eyes. And what he saw was the answer to what he wanted to ask her. It was all in her smile right then.

Her eyes shone with unshed tears but the also shone with something much deeper than friendship. They shone with love and it seemed like she didn't even know- it was just there. Her eyes were smiling with the rest of her.

"Marinette," Chat started just as her transformation fell away in the soft light in his room, the setting sun lighting up her everything. Though he thought she was shining all by herself, anyway.

"Adrien," she responded readily, his own transformation falling away at his feet, leaving two emotional teenagers in the light of dawn.

It had taken them a while after finding out to get there. To be okay with all their imperfections, to be okay with _this_. But now it was okay. They were ready for this love with all the risks it'd bring because it was worth it.

Both were smiling now and it was definitely time for these confessions that came out if their mouths at the same time.

"I love you."


	5. Their smile

He thought things would change after yesterday.

Honestly, Adrien had expected to feel different after confessing his love to the love of his life but in reality, everything seemed the same. And he was so, so _happy_ it was.

When he was brought to school like usual, the first thing to greet him was his girlfriend (okay, _wow_ ) who smiled before coming up to him. "Hey there. No photoshoot today?"

The boy jumped out of the car and waved his bodyguard goodbye before hugging Marinette tightly "Nah". The girl grumbled against him before sighing and hugging him back. Her voice was muffled against his shirt. "Totally not making it obvious."

"I want everyone to know!" He laughed before pulling away and grinning down at her. She shook her head with a smirk of her own before taking his hand. "I can't be mad at you when you say stuff like that."

"Noted." Adrien said before pulling her towards school with him.

At first, no one seemed to care. They had always been rather touchy-feely with each other ever since becoming better friends so holding hands and hugging was no news. None of their friends really questioned their behavior therefore.

And Adrien and Marinette came to the agreement that if someone came straight up to them and asked if they were dating, they'd confirm it. It didn't look like it would happen until lunch break.

And when it did happen, no one was prepared for the chaos afterwards. In hindsight it should have been obvious, of course. They had _Chloé,_ after all.

"Are you guys dating?" Simple as that. Direct and bold, Marc blinked at his friend and the boy she had obviously liked for a long, long time. He was no stranger to 'Adrienette'.

And while the boy was shy and insecure around most people, he knew Marinette and liked Adrien. Besides, the other pupils around him were (kind of) his friends, too, so he didn't feel the need to hold back anymore. Let it out, they said.

No one had told him about the consequences!

Half the class gasped in surprise and suspense; Alix dropped her sandwich, Kim let go of Max who fell to the ground with a quiet 'oof', Mylene and Rose were smiling so widely it _had_ to hurt and Juleka simply stared.

Meanwhile, Alya was sprinting over towards the trio, her face red and her eyes screaming for deets, Nino was quick to follow her and Chloé let out a series of curses followed by a loud "What?!"

Marinette took in all that and shrugged, exchanging a short look with her partner. "Yeah, we are."

"WHAT?"

" _What?"_

 _"...what."_

And then Chloé began screaming bloody murder, big tears rolling down her face, Kim and Alix began a shouting match about a bet concering the couple (Marinette would have a word with her friend later), Rose, Mylene and by extent Juleka were complementing the twosome and gushing about how cute they were and how 'rad' this was, Nino cheered and Alya squealed. All in all an expected turn of events.

"Well, congrats you both!" Marc yelled above the noise, throwing a concerned look over at Chloé who was now in a discussion with their teacher and threatening to call her dad (for whatever reason now, what was her dad to do about two people in love after all?) and mumbled to himself, going back to writing.

The school could have burnt, then, as Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, their smiles identical. Both showed a love that was far too deep for others to understand, happiness that was well deserved and a promise of the future. It truly made them glow.

The kiss that followed and its... consequences were another story.


End file.
